We’ve heard that 91% of organisations have Macs and 99% have iOS devices as part of the mix of business tools. That’s a staggering change from 10 years ago when Macs were found hiding in corners! This places an increased burden on support staff who have seen a dramatic change in their responsibilities. These new business enablers are charged with facilitating productive work environments. So what is available for tech teams and how do they gain that expertise?
Apple Technical Training falls into 3 broad categories:
- Mac OS Expertise; Certified client level support, PC conversion or advanced training on directory services and deployment.
- iOS Technical training; learning how to plan and execute, then support iOS deployments in enterprise and then support the users.
- All the rest; user familiarisation on OS and Apps; App development training and hardware training for those who want to support their own hardware.
There is quite a lot to choose from and we can help advise on which path or courses are right for you based on what and how you support as part of your mixed estate.
Recommended Route for Service Desks
For service desks embarking on an adoption of Mac support capability we generally recommend training all or the majority at level 1 and then identifying specialists to take on expertise at levels 2 and 3 – this is illustrated please see the diagram below. Training levels broadly are compatible with the support tier system that you will be familiar with.
What do the courses look like that deliver capability?
As you probably know, we’re regarded as the UK’s authority on Apple training. Here’s a look at our three most popular courses:
macOS Support Essentials
This was spotlighted in our last email. It’s the most popular Mac support course that carries Apple certification.
A 3-day course, macOS Support Essentials is detailed, practical and hands-on. It’s led by one of our master-trainers in class sizes of eight or under meaning delegates get a lot of one-to-one attention. We think classroom training is the best way of studying for and achieving formal certification. This course contains a HUGE amount of critical knowledge for Apple IT support professionals.
Mac Support For PC Technicians
Does what it says on the tin. It’s an intensive conversion course for experienced Windows support techs who now need to support Macs in the workplace. We challenge you to find a more comprehensive Mac support conversion course than this. After a properly intensive two days of hands-on training, delegates are ready to take the exam to qualify as an Apple Certified Associate and ready to be an authoritative Mac support tech.
Mac OS Advanced Deployment
Teaches advanced techniques to deploy fleets of Macs using apple and 3rd Party tools. This three-day course for advanced users is led by an Apple master trainer and teaches delegates advanced techniques for deploying fleets of Mac devices using both Apple and 3rd party tools. The course grows your theoretical and your practical knowledge because the lessons are built around real-world examples and practical exercises.
Over the past few years, Apple has removed more and more certifications, but at the same time, demand for Apple skills has exploded. We believe that classroom training plays an important part, no… vital part in ensuring consistent skills levels and ability in professional admins and support teams. We’re also beta testing methods of online skills delivery at the moment, more on that later!